Field of the Invention
Example embodiments relate generally to a nuclear repository, and more particularly to a system and a method for turning heat and gamma radiation into value in a nuclear repository.
Related Art
Light water reactors (LWRs) produce electricity using enriched uranium. Spent nuclear fuel (SNF), which may include fission products, 235U, and 239P, is a radioactive by-product of a LWR. The conventional strategy for handling LWR SNF is to store spent material on-site at LWRs for 10-20 years (in spent nuclear fuel pools) and eventually move the SNF to off-site, long-term geologic repositories in order to protect the environment as well as the public. Generally, geologic repositories are designed to stock-pile radioactive waste in rock deep underground (for instance, in Yucca Mountain in Nevada). For instance, as shown in FIG. 1, spent nuclear fuel has conventionally been stored in reinforced underground tunnels 2. The spent nuclear fuel may be moved into the tunnel 2 on a gantry crane rail 2. The spent nuclear fuel may include pressurized water reactor waste packages 6, co-disposal waste packages (with high-level waste canisters and/or Department of Energy spent nuclear fuel canisters) 8 and boiling water reactor waste packages 10, for example. The spent nuclear fuel may be covered by a drip shield 12, to isolate the fuel from water that may contact the waste fuel and re-enter the environment through local water tables.
During the long-term storage of the spent waste fuel, gamma radiation and radioactive heat continue to be emitted for extended periods of time (lasting thousands of years). Therefore, by storing the spent nuclear fuel in long-term storage repositories, the economic value of gamma rays and decay heat is lost.